❤️🔥 Follow Your Purpose
🍦 Why Grow?
🖥️ Purpose Isn’t Complicated
❤️🔥 Follow Your Purpose
I asked a job seeker, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” He replied, “Passionate!” I almost laughed out loud! 🤭
Passion is overrated. You don’t find it. You earn it, nurture it, and grow into it.
After graduating university, the candidate joined a national retailer and achieved some real, tangible accomplishments. But then he quit. “I wasn’t passionate about the job,” he said. He then remained unemployed for the next two years.
If this was a one-off incident I wouldn’t think anything of it, but I interviewed three candidates all with very similar stories. They worked for a while, didn’t like it, quit, and waited for their passions to arrive.
Tim Sanders, author of Love Is a Killer App, describes passion as energy. He explains, “Passion is very self-oriented. It is an energy. It is an enthusiasm. It is a passing of time.”
He continues, “As we grow up into our adult life, we’ll never be mature until we learn to follow a purpose instead of following passion.”
That’s the disconnect. It’s not about your passions. It’s about your purpose.
As leaders, we are the creators of purpose. It is part of your brand. In defining a strategy for your business and brand, you are defining a purpose for you and your team.
One Stat to Watch
28%
of people said their work gives them a sense of purpose and only 28% report that the work they do is meaningful, according to a global study of 15,600 knowledge workers conducted by HP.
🍦 Why Grow?
Choosing to grow your business is a lot like dieting. You can start your diet with the best of intentions, but a few weeks in you may realize, “I love ice cream,” and the diet peters out and you don’t change. 🍦😭
To drive significant revenue growth requires structural change. This can be expensive and risky, and often requires “balance sheet investments” — read that as losing money — before you can reap the rewards of growth.
As a leader, get clear on, “Why do you want to grow?” Without a strong why, it’s hard to lead the change that matters.
Your reason for driving growth can be personal and relevant to your situation. For instance, you might say:
- Succession: Building the company up enough to pass it on to the next generation.
- Creating Jobs: Creating more and better quality roles for family and the community.
- Winning: Seeing that mark of success and personal achievement of what can be accomplished.
- For Sale: Building the company for an exit or sale.
Whatever is your “Why,” own it. This is your purpose. It will give you the drive and commitment to lead the change ahead.
🖥️ Purpose Isn’t Complicated
Microsoft used to have a great purpose, “to put a computer on every desk and in every home.”
In 1975, people didn’t own personal computers. It took great forethought and energy to chase such a big hairy audacious deal.
Too often mission and vision statements are too complicated. Simple doesn’t seem sexy or impressive, but it’s relevant. A clear, simple purpose provides your team a measuring stick for making decisions: will this decision get us closer to our purpose, yes or no?
Southwest Airlines was founded on the idea of making air travel as affordable as taking the bus. This was a tangible, measurable purpose.
When an employee brought a new idea or suggestion to Herb Kelleher, Southwest Airlines’ legendary co-founder and CEO until 2001, he would ask, “How will that make flying more affordable for our customers?” If the suggestion didn’t fulfill the purpose, it was discarded.
The clarity of Southwest’s purpose saved them oodles of time. They weren’t chasing innovations and ideas in air travel. They were chasing a clear purpose, and innovating to fulfill that goal. Decisions could be made, because they knew what was important and what was out of scope.
You don’t have to look for grandiose ideas or concepts. An effective purpose is simple, straight forward and actionable.
🤔 Thoughts on Today's Issue?
We’d love to hear your feedback. Reply to this message with any thoughts, comments, or ideas for future issues.